Water Shortage

From an urban planning perceptive there are many advantages to living in an urban center. Urban life and development can be considered more sustainable in that less space is consumed, less commute time is required- allowing for public transportation to play an important role, and resources are centrically based.

Nevertheless, the dependence that urban centers have on natural resources is not always clear- urban centers are often disconnected from the natural resources, energy, etc. that are necessary in order for it to function.

The two sided coin of living in a large-scale city has become evident to me during my time in Santiago. There are many benefits of living in a dense city, walkability and public transportation tend to become dominate forms of transportation. Access to entertainment, education and employment opportunities are greater. Sprawl is less of a factor, although typically still existent. For example, in the case of Santiago- sprawl is existent, but within 30 minutes of driving you are completely outside of any urban area here in Santiago. The overarching downfalls to urbanization in my opinion is congestion, contamination and the disconnection, but dependence on natural resources.

 

 

Due to heavy rainfall a small providence of Santiago suffered horrible flooding and landslides. As a result, a predicted 4 million homes have been left without water. This event is a prime example of the delicate state yet important role, natural resource infrastructure plays in urban life. As population trends continue to urbanize the dependency yet disconnection cities have with natural resources must be addressed.

For more information about the landslide click here 

 

Old Eyes | New Year

I’ve realized its been over a month since my last post, which can be attributed to various factors, mostly due to many changes- the end of my first semester at school in Chile, and special family visits, my moms first trip out of the country since I was born for example.

I also realized that I have finally began to fall into a routine in Chile- one of the reasons for my lack of posts. I now have old eyes- I now look at and live in Santiago from a residents versus a visitors perspective. This doesn’t mean that I don’t continue to learn or appreciate my life here in Santiago or vice versus.

Now approaching the new year with old eyes I have had the time to reflect on all that Santiago has taught me— and boy has it taught me and my family a lot.

Life in Santiago is hard, hands down. Santiago is expensive and it is of no help that the US dollar is valued less than the Chilean peso. The job market is competitive, unless you are looking to become an English teacher. The pay is obscene, minimum wage is $257.000 CLP = $385.00 USD, yet the cost of living is high. The school system is privatized, meaning quality is almost only accessible through private education, the cost of said education is in the thousands for a basic education for children.

These factors don’t make Santiago bad,they just make it hard. Reasons all of which have made our family appreciate many of the privileges we had back in the states- access to high paying jobs, free good quality education for our children, etc.

At the end of the day its hard to move to a new city, state or country. Its a process that takes time and lots of adjustment- a learning process. There are things that I have found here in Santiago in my day to day life and in the field of urban planning that I hands down can’t imagine living without again– and at the very same time there are factors that are missing that make it very hard to live without.

I suppose that is the very predicament that is so beautiful about having the opportunity/choice to live in another country.

Car Free Lifestyle

Now going on my six months of living a car free lifestyle I have begun reflecting on both the benefits and the downsides of living without a car. Having chosen our current apartment after only being in Santiago for three days we got lucky that our neighborhood, especially compared to many areas throughout Santiago, is incredibly walkable.

 

 

The Metro in Santiago is great- its clean, cheap, and convenient! Its easy to navigate and gets to many parts of Santiago. A key to living in a big metropolis like Santiago is your distance to public transit, in my case the metro is around a 30-45 minute walk from my house the reason why I rarely use it during the week. However, I use it during the weekends to explore new parts of Santiago.

 

 

During the week, apart from the days I have meetings and/or school I live within my neighborhood. To understand how much I walk on a typical day I mapped out my daily route for which I figured that I am walking around 5.6-6 kilometers a day, 3.5 miles. The incredible thing is that I never find the walking tiring because my day is made up of several small trips- walking to the park, school, grocery, etc.

 

 

 

Separated pedestrian walkway adjacent to cycle track (on right) a great street located a few blocks from our house. The boulevard is a great place for running and walking, a boulevard  I frequent with my children several times a week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An image of a pedestrian boulevard located in downtown Santiago. Within this area of Santiago there are a series of inter-connected pedestrian boulevards.

 

 

 

 

As an urban planner I understand the need and the benefits of active lifestyles. However, back in Denver, Colorado I had a very inactive lifestyle, at least this past year. After my bicycle accident I was unable of getting back onto my bike. Bicycling was the one form at active transportation that was convenient for me in Denver- where walking wasn’t a reasonable form of daily transportation. Within the past year after my accident I gained around 20-30 pounds. Now living a car free lifestyle I have been able to shred off excess weight, not by a diet (literally impossible here with all the delicious bread!), but mostly due to my active lifestyle. Let alone the fact that walking, at least in my opinion, is less stressful and I don’t have to worry about traffic! Living here has been proven to me the benefits of living in a built environment that promotes an active lifestyle.

 

The Reconstruction of Our Cities

For the final paper of my Urban Mobilities course I wrote a paper discussing the need to reconstruct modern cities to incorporate infrastructure for active forms of transportation i.e. walking, bicycling, etc. The paper outlines the externalities that communities have suffered worldwide due to the emphasis placed on automobile infrastructureignoring the importance of alternative forms of transportation. The danger of the automobile lies within the fact that it has become such an intrinsic, natural part of our daily lives- to the point that its existence is no longer questioned. It is within this mindset that the urban planner must work, slowly, but surely changing the perception residents have towards the role of automobiles. Urban planners are not social programmers, or at the least that is not our desired role, but the fact is that decisions made by urban planners and designers directly impact the quality of life of residents. Just like city planners injected automobiles into cities globally, transforming the way cities were designed and built, the decisions made by current day city planners will determine the quality of life residents have for generations to come.

The role of urban planners is not to follow trends blindly, but to strategically plan the future of cities. Redesigning and construction car-dominated cities to incorporate active forms of transportation will not be achieved easily. Nevertheless, there are certain strategies that can help in this process. The following are a few strategies that can be considered when incorporating active forms of transportation:

• Mixed-Use Development: Mixed-Use development that permits density and provides daily services for residents make walking or bicycling reliable forms of transportation. Mixed-use development can be integrated into urban sprawl, car-dominated environments. Redesigning suburbs to better incorporate active transportation will is, and will continue to be, a challenge for urban planners.

• Complete Streets-Putting Cars in their Place: Active transportation infrastructure must be approached and designed with the same integrity as automobiles. Currently, much of bicycle infrastructure is overly simplified. For example, it is typical to see a bicycle lane in one direction, but rare , if not completely nonexistent, to see bicycle lanes (more than one) in one direction. In a city like Santiago, one lane per direction is not sufficient capacity to meet current demand. During peak hours the bicycle lanes become overcrowded, causing faster bicyclists to unsafely cross into the opposite direction lane to pass, stacking and an overall uncofromtable, unsafe bicycle environment. In order for alternative modes of transportation to flourish the way in which they are designed needs to be greatly improved. Again the objective is not to eliminate the automobile from the conversation, but to make it only a piece of the street network puzzle.

• Public Transit: Public transit directly impacts the feasibility of walkability and bicycling (and other forms of transportation), comprehensive public transit networks fill in the necessary gaps for long distance travel, and areas not easily accessed on foot or bike.

• Public Campaigns: Strong public campaign efforts must be realized in order to inform residents about the importance and need for the presence of alternative forms of transportation. Automobile drives will need to learn to share the street, giving the right to bicyclists and pedestrians.

 

Now the question is what kind of traffic jam would you prefer to be stuck in?

The Role Parks Play

The important role that parks play in the life of residents living in urban areas can not be denied. The ability to physically engage in your neighborhood, city is vital for all residents. In the context of Santiago, as the city has densified more individuals and families are now living in apartments, with limited access to open space.

Two concerns come to mind in relation to children raised in dense urban areas:

1- The affect on children’s brain development. Due to limited space and issues of safety, children in urban areas may have less opportunities for creative play. This is where parks often fill in a needed gap, providing the space needed for physical activity. There is strong evidence pointing to how children’s overall development is negatively impacted from a lack of free play. Here is one of many articles speaking to this.

2- Childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has become of increasing concern for Chilean children, an article speaking to the new Chilean labeling law for unhealthy foods states, “In Chile, the Health Ministry says five of every 10 children are overweight and one of every 11 deaths is linked to obesity.” I plan to speak in greater detail about the role of health and the built environment, as well as steps to decrease childhood obesity occurring here in Chile in a later post. However, for the purpose of this post I want to make clear the role that safe and fun parks- where both children and adults can engage in physical activity is of great importance for urban residents.

With this in mind many of Santiago’s park are well-designed and activated. Below I have listed a few examples of creative techniques observed in Santiago that help parks stay activated and safe. These techniques could help benefit underutilized parks in the U.S. and other areas abroad. Additionally, these strategies could be achieved with little to no public investment.

1- Opportunities for adults to simultaneously engage in physical activity while with children at parks. Almost every park has exercise equipment adjacent to the playground equipment- allowing for adults to exercise and watch their children at the same time.

2- Free exercise classes offered within distinct municipality parks- open to the public. The picture above is from a weekend exercise class offered in a local park. This type of resources exemplify how local municipalities/cities can directly improve the quality of life of its residents. It also helps keep local parks engaged, that may otherwise be underutilized.

3- Especially during the weekends there is an array of fun, inexpensive activities setup at many parks. Above is an example of trampolines that are often set-up at parks, costing around mil pesos, equivalent to a $1.25, for 10-15 minutes. There are little toy, face painting, food, bikes and other stands dispersed throughout the park. This is a fun way to promote local economic opportunities and a unique way to diversify park engagement.

La Ciudad No Es Un Dibujo

The city is not a drawing- was one of the many quotes imparted on my class by the professor of my Urban Mobilities class yesterday. The professor of the class Carme Mirralles-Guasch (whose academic papers can be found in the following link) has come to La Universidad Pontificia Catolica from Barcelona to teach this intensive course. With the quote she was referring to how cities were designed during the era of “modernity” and how a city can’t be either constructed or created as if it were a drawing- simply because cities are much more intricate than that. 

Above is a model that the famous architect Le Corbusier imagined/designed for a 2-mile stretch of downtown Paris- luckily, for the world his design was never realized. Regardless how recognized Le Corbusier is for his architecture, he was an awful city planner (at least in my opinion). Le Corbusier created the concept of the city in the air, achieved through large skyscrapers, a design intended to leave the streetscape obsolete. Nonetheless, its important to understand the context in which Le Corbusier’s design was created. The idea for the Paris based design came as a reaction from disease and other externalities plaguing major cities. -Historical context, helps us better understand the thinking behind city design and thus how cities have transformed over time. 

The relationship between the public and the city is constantly morphing. Although the city lifestyle isn’t desirable in some urban areas, it is returning in popularity in most.

As mentioned above the class thus far has focused on how paramount moments throughout history have directly impacted the built environment of cities. Rethinking our built environments as an intricate result of historical events helps us to better understand why our cities are shaped the way they are. Professor Carme Miralles-Guasch encourages us to think of the city within a separate timeline, instead of within the human timeline. As citizens of cities, sprawl and/or rural development its often difficult to imagine our existence as part of only a fraction of said territories timeline. Thinking of cities on a different timeline helps us understand that decisions made for example 50+ years ago, based off of criteria from that time period are still being experienced by residents today. Urban planners, architects, engineers or any individual who directly takes part in shaping the built environment must understand how their decisions will impact not only the current generations, but generations to come- and thus what are the repercussions of said decisions…

To put this into perspective consider when the automobile became accessible to everyday citizens. The mass production of cars, a time in the historical context referred to as Fordism, reshaped the urban landscape of countless cities. For urban planners, architects and engineers during this time period the automobile posed endless opportunities and benefits. It allowed for autonomous transportation – making the option of urban sprawl viable and that of a dense city not or at least no longer necessary. City streets were widened to allow for cars to travel with ease, as a result the street became the domain of the automobile versus a space for various transportation uses. Examples of this method of city planning can be witnessed throughout the United States and worldwide. It is the few cities who didn’t lose the focus on multimodal transportation, the ability for citizens to choose from a wide range of transportation options, that are the cities tourists flock, those of Paris, New York City, Rome, etc. 

Unfortunately, for many cities, mine included, there has been so much focus on singular occupancy vehicles (SOVs) that now trying to incorporate other forms of transportation is much more difficult. However, the need is there. Experts in city planning, health and economics are realizing that the dense, human scaled, walkable cities have benefits that are lost when the city is designed to cater predominately to automobiles. This predicament situates urban planning at a crucial vantage point, where the decisions made today will directly impact the quality of life of those for generations to come. The conversation of  the importance of equitable multimodal transportation options is past due -the environmental, health, economic and social repercussions from automobile centric lifestyles will not simply disappear, but will only grow larger if not addressed. 

I dare to say that most, not all, but most individuals don’t question the built environment around them, but instead accept it as a natural part of their daily life. Its difficult to question our transportation options, how walkable our neighborhood is, or the fact that the only option of transportation we may have ever used is a car- because unless you’ve had the opportunity to visit a city designed different than yours, its difficult to understand the fact that cities are designed with different sets of criteria, which hence results in a city with either more or less transportation options available.

At the end of the day- one of my favorite parts about studying in the field of urban planning is that there is always something new to learn.

Not All Cities Are Created Equal

Unlike humans, not all cities are created equal. Most of us can agree that our favorite cities in the world have one thing in common– they are walkable. Yes, of course, there are those of you who will disagree, but are not the most desirable cities, the ones that tourists and residents alike lose track of time while wandering the endless streets or taken aback by the views ultimately walkable?

I am often asked what it is exactly that an urban planner is, a question that time after time leaves me without a solid answer. However, last night I came up with one answer to the question, in which I could respond a million different ways– and that is— Not All Cities Are Created Equal. Urban planning is ultimately the way in which we live our day to day lives, the transportation options we have to choose from, the air we breath, the parks where our children play, how safe our neighborhoods are, and an endless list of choices we unconsciously make everyday.

Now ask yourselves these few questions to determine in what type of city/town you live in….

What is the most convenient way for you to get to work, school or wherever it is you may need to go everyday? If its a car, you probably don’t live in the most ideal planned city. Or do you have a plethora of transportation options at your fingertips?

When you get yourself out in your transportation option of most convenience are you surrounded by others making the same decisions as you? Are you surrounded by cars or  bicyclists, metro and bus riders?

In the end, the best cities and often the healthiest are those that residents can easily get to their destinations by walking. And I must say that Santiago rates at the higher end of the spectrum when it comes to a well designed, well built city, dense and walkable, full of transportation options— a city easily explored everyday by your own two feet.

Walkability deserves a post of its own, one of which, I will gladly write soon, but as you begin to question the built environment around you, I urge you to think of the choices you make everyday. Today I simply want to state that unlike humans, not all cities are created equal.

 

 

For anyone new to the blog— Where do you live? How do you get around? and please upload some of your favorite areas of your city or town.

Until soon — yours truly,

The Urbana

Bicycles

Bicycling has always played an important role in my life, it was through bicycling that I first experienced independence. For as long as I can remember bicycling has been a part of me. My parents taught me how to bike at a young age, bikes were always around, and an essential part of my childhood play; whether it be my radical pink bicycle with an attached radio or my tomboy mountain bike I maneuvered down steep staircases, which unfortunately had no functioning brakes and depended on planting your foot on the ground to stop, a reason I later broke my ankle. Growing up my first solo ventures out of my neighborhood were on bicycle, where I would ride straight in one direction for blocks and blocks, a key, for its difficult to get lost, no matter how far you go, if your only going in one direction.

My grandfather was an avid bicyclist (and still is and would still likely bicycle if allowed), while growing up he always made a point to take me on strenuous rides when I visited him in California. I have fond memories of these experiences that taught me the importance of endurance and self-discipline.

As I grew older bicycling continued to be a key part to my daily life, and eventually led me to the Denver Derailer Bicycle Collective , a bicycle collective that no longer exists, but I believe many of the founders of Derailer now run The Bike Depot . Derailer and now The Bike Depot focus on providing vulnerable populations (and back in the day predominately neighborhood kids and the homeless) with a bicycle. A bicycle they choose and then work on directly with one of the bicycle technicians at hand. The idea being to directly empower these individuals with not only a free mode of transportation, but the tools and knowledge to keep a bicycle in a good condition on a limited budget. The fact is that many bicycle shops capitalize off peoples lack of understanding of bicycle basics. For example, a flat tire is pretty simple to fix, but bicycle shops charge 3x the actual cost to fix it. Whereas, if you fix it yourself the cost is minimal. Bicycling is actually very affordable, but often only promoted to those of higher incomes. However, through non-profits such as The Bike Depot these barriers are broken. Although I never directly worked with Derailer, I did live with the community that supported this effort, and as a result lived a car free lifestyle for many years. It was through this means that I first began to understand the economical, health, and even political benefits reaped from bicycling.

As I transitioned through life, eventually becoming a mother, I wanted to ensure that this passion for bicycling would be passed onto my children. As soon as our children were old enough to wear helmets our family bike rides began, an activity we all truly enjoyed.

Being a Denver native I have been witness to the drastic bicycle infrastructure changes now shaping the Denver landscape. Ten years ago it was absurd to see a bicycle lane in downtown, your options were to either ride in the street or along the Cherry Creek and/or Platte Trail.

Nonetheless, any bicyclist, with acquaintances who also bike, will likely have at least one story of an unfortunate accident, whether it be self-inflicted (ice, running into parked cars, etc), or from someone getting hit by a car. For one reason or another I never quite thought this reality would be mine one day. Yet, unfortunately today marks the one year anniversary of my first car induced bicycle accident. A year ago from today I was ironically on my way to my internship with the US DOT (Department of Transportation) with WITI (Women in Transportation Initiative) where I was stationed in Boulder, Colorado working with the Boulder Valley School District’s Transportation Department, where I (ironically) focused on doing a complete inventory of the bicycle infrastructure within the district. I would take the bus from Denver to Boulder. This day in particular I was almost to the bus to Denver’s recently updated Union Station, in my bicycle lane, with the right of way, when a car turned directly into me. Needless to say this accident changed my life, and my relationship and that of my family with bicycling. I had hoped to gather enough courage to get back on a bicycle before the year mark, but have yet to be able.

However, now being in Santiago, I have been nothing short of impressed of the incredible and intricate bicycle infrastructure here. Although I am still unable to convince myself to get back on a bicycle, I am a complete fanatic of the bicycle culture and infrastructure here. The bicycle infrastructure within this city, makes Denver’s new bicycle infrastructure additions seem miniscule.

Both the pictures above are just two pictures of bicycle infrastructure within the neighborhood, one is a cycle track (bicycle lanes that are at level with the sidewalk, physically separated from automobile traffic), and the other is the newly installed protected two-way bicycle lane that runs down my street. Just like rush hour for the vehicles of Santiago, the bicycle lane is packed during peak hours.

These are just two examples from my neighborhood yet, the bicycle infrastructure is continuous throughout various parts of the cities. I haven’t spent too much time out of the city center and/or the communities on its periphery, and am therefore less confident on speaking to the bicycle infrastructure outside of the city.

In the coming weeks I will include more pictures new and old that I have taken of the bicycle infrastructure here in Santiago.

As a tribute to the many individuals who have lost their lives, physical and/or mental capability due to bicycle accidents please, please make sure to wear a helmet, use lights at night, and always take caution, even when you have the right of way. Cheers to all!

Air Quality

I can’t remember ever being overly concerned with air quality at any point in my life. Of course, like any urban center, there are areas of Denver that have more traffic and less green areas (trees, parks, etc). In specific, there are parts along the interstates, especially I-70 that host a majority of Denver’s industry. There are communities nested along these sections of the highway that suffer high levels of pollution and poor air quality. One of these neighborhood is that of Globeville, Elyria Swansea (GES) where I focused the majority of my graduate and professional work. Air pollution is of major concern for the residents and advocates of this neighborhood. The neighborhood was bisected by I-70 in the 50’s, and now serves as a national case of environmental racism. Environmental racism manifests in a variety of ways but is generally the process in which vulnerable, and often communities of color, receive an unequal portion of the cities factories, dumping grounds and pollution. I-70 has reached its 50-year lifespan and is in desperate need of repair. Residents and advocates of the neighborhood believe that the interstate should be rerouted to prevent further negative impacts to GES residents. A comprehensive Health Impact Assessment (HIA) was conducted in order to understand the health inequalities suffered by this neighborhood. The HIA outlines the health impacts from the air pollution and other components that affect the health and quality of life of GES residents.

However, apart from this example, air quality wasn’t at the forefront of neither my studies as an urban planner, or as a Denver resident. Much has changed after arriving in Santiago. The air quality of Santiago literally dictates your day. Being new to the city it took some time to understand exactly how much. As it turns out Santiago, especially during the winter, has very poor air quality.

When we first arrived, we noticed that people wore their scarves secured over their mouths, we thought it was for the “cold” air, turns out most people do this as a means to protect themselves from the contaminated air. Since Santiago is situated in a valley the contaminated air settles above the city. During the past couple of weeks there have been several days of “Emergencia” and “Preemergencia” from the high level of pollutants in the air, these days result in strict restrictions. There are vehicle restrictions during these days, in which the numbers listed on your license plate dictate whether you can drive that day or not. Physical activity is also not recommended, to the point that children often don’t get recess and recreational activities are cancelled. As a mother of two young children its difficult to keep children indoors period, let alone for an entire day.

For those interested in more information on this topic, you can read this article click here.

Additionally, el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente “The Environmental Ministry” has an app that can be downloaded. The app advises users of the air quality and/or restrictions in Santiago for the particular day.

These are pictures taken from the app from last week:

The Streets are for the People

Name of the Sunday non-motorist campaign with the slogan, “The city for the people”.

Perhaps my favorite part of Santiago so far has been the incredible pedestrian and cycling infrastructure found throughout the city. I had taken a vast amount of pictures, but they were unfortunately lost when I dropped my phone in water. However, my following post will include more detailed pictures focused on the pedestrian infrastructure and walking lifestyle found here in Santiago. Today I am going to highlight the CicloRecreoVia event with the slogan of, “The city for the people”. Currently six different comunas (comunas are similar to counties, but are more like neighborhoods of Santiago) host CicloRecreoVia. CicloRecreoVia closes off main streets in different parts of these comunas to vehicular traffic every Sunday. The streets are then taken over by pedestrians, bicyclists of all ages, runners, rollerbladers and a whole array of others. The result is nothing short of an urban planners dream. Since the event occurs on major downtown arterials there is sufficient space for distinct users ranging in ages and activity to enjoy this event. The motive behind the event is about returning public spaces to its citizens, that the city should be for its people, not for cars. Santiago in Sunday transforms into a sleepy town, where the majority of stores and many restaurants close for the day. There is minimal pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the streets on Sundays, one reason why this event functions in such a large city. The event lasts from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm every Sunday and lures 30,000 people per Sunday according to the CicloRecreoVia website.

 

Note to Readers: Apologies for my delayed post, we have been without internet for the past month. We continue to be without internet and I could easily write an entire post complaining about the reasons why, but I will refrain. I will post next week without doubt.